High-pressure vessel



May 22, 1945. H. c. sTEARNs 2,376,831

HIGH-PRESSURE VESSEL Filed Oct. 7, 1942 2 SheetvS-Sheet l Inman/alor' [gygy C.5earfzs Patented yMay 22., 1945 l mon-PRESSURE v iissrzr.v Harry C. Stearns, Chicago, 111..'as'slgnor to Prodacts Development, Inc., Chicago," Ill., a corpo ration of Illinois4 Application :october 7, 1942, serial 16.461.152

w1. zzo-s) 5 Claims.

My invention relates to the construction of portable vessels for holding gases under high pressure. y

*Present day operations of military aircraft involve flights at altitudes so high that auxiliary oxygen must be supplied for breathing, and it is customarily obtained from small tanks or cylinders in which it is stored under high pressures. Compressed gases are also of value for other purposes in connection with the operation of aircraft.

Needless to say',- the rst requirement of tanks for aircraft use is light weight. The usual approach to the problem of getting sufllcient strength with minimum weight in these tanks has been along conventional lines-the tank is formed in one piece from a steel billet by a hot forging process. But vhot forging facilities and forge men capable of doing a good job are critically scarce, and even with the best of equipment and skill there is a high proportion of rejects, largely on account of the diillculty of accurately controlling the temperatures at which-the forge operations are performed.

It is an object of my invention,v therefore, to produce a gas cylinder of lightweight, but with high mechanical strength as regards resistance to internal pressure.

Another object is the provision of a tank which will not shatter when struck by a bullet. This feature is an important one, since the tank or bottle, with its contents under high pressure may be more dangerous than the bullet itself if it shatters when hit. v

With these and other objects vin view, my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the various elements of a high pressure y vesselwhereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my rclaims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view of a pressure tank or bottle embodying the features of my invention, the upper half of the gure showing the structure in vertical section, and the lower half showing it in elevation;

`Figure 2 is a -transverse half section taken on the line y2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 51s an elevational viewillustrating initial stages in the formation of the reinforcing sheath; and A v v Figure 6 isa vertical sectional view taken on the line 6-6` of Figure 5.

The drawings illustrate a practical form which my invention mayi assume, but are'notfintended A as limitative'of the vvscope of the invention.

The embodiment shown inthe drawings has -the general shape most suitable for vessels of this typea cylinder with hemispherical ends. Broadly, my invention involves the provision of a relatively thin inner shell which serves as the impervious or gas-tight member, and an outer reinforcement consisting of a woven wire sheath around the cylindrical portion, and hemispheri. cal endfcaps, the longitudinal wires oi' the woven sheath being continued` on down under the end caps to suitable fastening means.

In the drawings I have used the reference nu meral I0 to indicate generally the inner gas-tight shell. It consists preferably'of two drawn steel semi-shells I2 and I4. A curved reinforcement plate IB is brazed or otherwise Afastened inside the hemispherical end of the shell Il. The shell I2 is provided with an opening i8 in its. hemispherical end, and an outlet fitting 20 has a tubu lar neck 22 which extends out through the opening. The neck 22 is internally threaded to receive a control valve or other device for regulating the flow of gas from the vessel. The fitting I2li has 4an annular flange 24, curved to llt the inside of shell I2, and brazed to the shell. 'I he flange is made wide enough so Athat it has adequate bearing upon the shell I2 and through it to the outer reinforcing members.

Each of the semi-shells I2 and i4 has a cylindrical portion and a hemispherical end, and the cylindrical portions are telescoped to form a joint 26 on a diameter midway of the length of the vessel. The joint is brazed as at 28.

About the cylindrical portion of the inner shell I0 I provide a reinforcing sheath 30, consisting of longitudinal wires 32, and a continuous, spiral- 1y wound circumferential wire I4.

A preferable material for this purpose is what is known in the trade as music'wire, a high carbon steel wire which can be made to have tensile strength as high as 350,000 pounds per square inch, and which has a low percent elongation.

The woven sheath maybe fabricated in any desired manner, though I have illustrated in the drawings one method which may be employed.

In Figures 5 and 6, the numeral Il indicates a shaft carrying :discs n which support axially extending plates l0, somewhat like the blades in 'a paddle'wheel. Two more plates 42 are removably retained by pins u between pairs of mounting'ears 46. The paddles so mounted constitute a form on which the circumferential wire 34 is wound, the edges of the paddles being provided with equally spaced notches Il in which tliewire is received. If a single wire I4 is odd number of paddles is preferable; if two wires are wound simultaneously, the number of paddles may be odd or even.

Threading tools III are placed in the winding,

' and 42 in Figure 6. When several have been inbeing "woven underand over adjacent turns of the wire 3l." These tools are flattened in cross section, as may be seen in Figure 6. They can most easily be thrust throughthe winding with the flat sides parallel with the winding but after they have been' inserted they are turned to the' position shown in Figure 6, spreading the turns of the winding to make spaces into which the longitudinal wires 32 may be thrust. 4

The wires 32 are especially well shown in Figure 5,'where it will be seen that the middle portion' 52 of these wires is corrugated and somewhat flattened (see Figure 4) while the end sections 5l remain round and straight. f

v arrangement of the parts of my structure without departing from thereal spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may reasonably be included l within their scope.

I claim: l.`A pressure. vessel consisting of a gas-tight shell having domed ends and a cylindrical intermediate portion, a reinforcing sheath including longitudinal `wires having circumferential wires vThe longitudinal wires are inserted into the` windingA inthe spacenext'to the threading tool, as at the right in Figure 6. They are then moved circumferentially until they engage the helical winding firmly, as shown next to the,` paddles l` serted in this way in each opening between the paddles, the pins 44 are withdrawn, allowing the paddle plates 42 to move inwardly,l so that the` form. 'Ihe weaving is then continued with thel interwoven therewith along the cylindrical portion of said shell, and end caps fitting over the domed ends of said shell, said end caps having axial openings, and said longitudinal wires being drawn down over the ends of said shell, beneath said end caps and out -through said openings, and being' fastened to said end caps.

. 2. A container for holding gas under-high pressure comprising a pair of cup-shaped shells telescoped and sealed together to form an elongated gas-'tight bottle, a reinforcing sheath of interwoven circumferential and corrugated vlongipartially woven structure may be taken off. thei i same threading tool and'the longitudinal wires,v

aremoved circumferentially as necessary to even up the spacing.

When the weaving is completed, the sheath is slipped over the cylindrical portion ofthe shell tudinal wires surrounding the middle portion of said bottle, end caps fitting over the ends of said bottle, saidvend caps having axial openings with a rolled edge forming an outwardly facing groove,

' said longitudinal wires being drawn down over lll, and the ends of the wires are drawn together to permit their passing through holes 5S in end caps 58. TheseA caps are then pressed on,;to the point where their enlarged portions 60`t over,

the woven part of the sheath 30. The caps have a rolled edge 62v aroundthe holes, forming an outwardly facing groove 64. The wires 32 arek folded back around this edgeand anchored in the groove by a tie wire 66. By brazing along the l tie wire, as indicated at 68, the ends of the longi-` tudinal Vwires are retained. Any extra length of wire can b e nicked andv broken off after. the brazing.- The bottle is then ready for test,A which involves placing it under high internal pressure. The in` lner semi-shell members I2 and I4, being deep;

vthevendsof said fbottle, beneath each endcap and around said. rolled edge into said groove, and means retaining the ends of said longitudinal wires.

3. In a pressure vessel, a gas-tight shell having domed =en ds and a cylindrical intermediate portion, a woven mesh of circumferential and longitudinal wires'surrounding the middle portion of said shell, end caps fitting over the domed ends drawn, are of vmetal having high percent elonga-4 tion, so that under the influence of the high presl sure they may expand circumferentially and longitudinally without rupture until the wire strands 3 and end caps take'the load. The pressure will reshape the music wire mesh to equalize thea loads.

, Itis important to note that the corrugated form of the longitudinal `wires 32 results in an interlocking or interanchoring of the weave in a of said shell and overlapping said mesh, 'said end caps' having axial openings, and said 1ongi.

vtudinal wires being drawn down over the ends `of said shell beneath said end caps and outlthrough said openings, means retaining the ends of said longitudinal wires, and a reinforcing plate inside said shell at one end thereof, so disposed 'as to cover and extend beyond the portion of said shell left unsupported by the spending end cap.

4. In a pressure vessel; an inner shell, reinl forcing means .therefor including a wire mesh surrounding the middle portion thereof, end caps fitting over the ends thereof, said end caps hav..

opening in the corre-A ing yaxial openings, an outlet fitting at one end l manner which will withstand the load changesjy in any direction, without severe rupture, in case abullet should sever individual strands. an ordinary pressure vessel is punctured, theautrush of compressed gas tears the metal violently,

When

often hurling fragments `with great force.. In Vmy structure, however, the woven mesh of high-` tensile vwire is not subject to tearing, and largely r confines v the rupture to the immediate area punc- 1 tured .by a bullet. Gas may pass rather lfreely;`

through the mesh, s o that a leak -tin the inner? shell asno tendency to cause rupture of the reinforcing sheath.

The tensile strength of music wire is so much greater than that of ordinary materials that it f is possible to get the necessary mechanical strength with much less weight, and hence another of myprincipalobjectsiS attained. l'

Some changes maybe made in the form or of said shell, extending out through the opening in the corresponding end cap, said fitting having a 'flange inside said shell, corresponding vto the curvature thereof, and extending outward to the point where its rbearing may be transmitted through the shell to the vend cap, and areinforcing plate inside said shell at the opposite end thereof, so disposed as. to cover and extend beyond the portion of said shell lef-t unsupported by the opening in the corresponding end cap. 5. A pressure vessel consisting of a gas-tight v shell having domed ends and a cylindrical intermediate portion, a reinforced sheet including longitudinal wires having circumferential wires interwoven therewith along the cylindrical portion `only of `said s hell, end caps fitting over the domed ends of said shell and substantially coextensive therewith, said end caps having openings, and said longitudinal wires being drawn. down over theends of said shell beneathsaid end caps and out through said openings, and being fastened `to `said end caps.

' HARRY C. STEARNS. 

